Having openly criticized the Gang of Four in 1969, Shi Lu took refuge in the wilderness near Xi'an. After a year he sought asylum in the hospital where he had been treated earlier for schizophrenia and alcoholism.

In the early 1970s, his compositions were distilled to a new clarity. His highly individual technique of pushing the brush like a carver's tool became more expressive. He found China's sacred western peak, Mount Hua, whose name is synonymous with the enduring character of both the landscape and the nation, a repeated source of inspiration. The theme of Shi's poem is the perseverance in adversity of noble spirits:

I love the pines of Mount Hua,Tall, noble, solemn, and dignified.Their thrusting trunks vie with the sun and the moon.Resisting cold winds through the years,They shake their arms at the sky-scraping ridgeAnd hold high their heads, like striding blue dragons.They support the clouds forever,Without taking flight to the heavens.